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John Hurrell Crook (27 November 1930 – 15 July 2011) was a British

ethologist Ethology is the scientific study of animal behaviour, usually with a focus on behaviour under natural conditions, and viewing behaviour as an evolutionarily adaptive trait. Behaviourism as a term also describes the scientific and object ...

who filled a pivotal role in British

primatology Primatology is the scientific study of primates. It is a diverse discipline at the boundary between mammalogy and anthropology, and researchers can be found in academic departments of anatomy, anthropology, biology, medicine, psychology, vete ...

.John Hurrell Crook, 1930–2011
obituary. University of Bristol. 20 July 2011. As

Reader A reader is a person who reads. It may also refer to: Computing and technology * Adobe Reader (now Adobe Acrobat), a PDF reader * Bible Reader for Palm, a discontinued PDA application * A card reader, for extracting data from various forms of ...

in Ethology (animal behaviour) in the Psychology Department of

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a Red brick university, red brick Russell Group research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Society of Merchant Venturers, Merchant Venturers' sc ...

, he led a research group studying social and reproductive behaviour in birds and primates throughout the 1970s–80s, turning to the socio-psychological anthropology of

Himalayan peoples Himalayan may refer to: * Himalayas mountain range ** Transhimalaya, a subrange (some species found there are referred to as "Himalayan" not "Transhimalayan") * ''Himalayan'' (album), an album by the band Band of Skulls * Himalayan cat The Hima ...

in the 1990s. In his later years he was the Teacher of the Western Chan Fellowship.

Early life

He was educated at Oakmount School, Southampton and

Sherborne School (God and My Right) , established = 705 by Aldhelm, re-founded by King Edward VI 1550 , closed = , type = Public school Independent, boarding school , religion = Church of England , president = , chair_label = Chairman of the governors , ...

, Dorset. He completed his national service in Hong Kong, where he first encountered

Chan Buddhism Chan (; of ), from Sanskrit '' dhyāna'' (meaning "meditation" or "meditative state"), is a Chinese school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It developed in China from the 6th century CE onwards, becoming especially popular during the Tang and S ...

Academic career

Crook was a pioneer in the early development of socio-ecology, adding this dimension to ethology which was then dominated by the ideas of "Niko" Tinbergen and Konrad Lorenz. His student paper on the gulls of Southampton Water while at

University of Southampton , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

, led to his doctoral study at

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes f ...

of the weaver birds ('' Ploceidae'') of West Africa, supervised by William Homan Thorpe and

Robert Hinde Robert Aubrey Hinde (26 October 1923 – 23 December 2016) was a British zoologist, ethologist and psychologist.Bateson, P., Stevenson-Hinde, J., & Clutton-Brock, T. (2018). Robert Aubrey Hinde CBE. 26 October 1923—23 December 2016. 65, ...

. This was followed by further research in India, the Seychelles Islands and East Africa. His theoretical interpretation subsequently contributed to

David Lack David Lambert Lack FRS (16 July 1910 – 12 March 1973) was a British evolutionary biologist who made contributions to ornithology, ecology, and ethology. His 1947 book, ''Darwin's Finches'', on the finches of the Galapagos Islands was a landm ...

’s discussion of the behavioural component in avian population research. His fieldwork was further supported by laboratory experimentation on the

endocrinal The endocrine system is a messenger system comprising feedback loops of the hormones released by internal glands of an organism directly into the circulatory system, regulating distant target organs. In vertebrates, the hypothalamus is the ...

basis for the behaviour observed in the field. After moving to Bristol University, he collaborated with Professor K.R.L. Hall in establishing a centre for primate studies, extending socio-ecological principles to primates, supervising doctoral projects and leading field research in Ethiopia on geladas and in Morocco on the

Barbary macaque The Barbary macaque (''Macaca sylvanus''), also known as Barbary ape, is a macaque species native to the Atlas Mountains of Algeria, Libya, Tunisia and Morocco, along with a small introduced population in Gibraltar. It is the type species of the ...

, subsequently developed by

Robin Dunbar Robin Ian MacDonald Dunbar (born 28 June 1947) is a British anthropologist and evolutionary psychologist and a specialist in primate behaviour. He is currently head of the Social and Evolutionary Neuroscience Research Group in the Department o ...

and John Deag respectively. His year as Fellow at the

Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences The Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) is an interdisciplinary research lab at Stanford University that offers a residential postdoctoral fellowship program for scientists and scholars studying "the five core social and ...

at Stanford University in California introduced him to the new techniques of humanistic psychotherapy. On return to Bristol, his students requested him to demonstrate these methods, leading to the creation of the Bristol Encounter Centre and to his teaching of the subject widely in the UK, especially based on workshops run at his retreat centre in mid Wales. In 1977 Crook led an expedition to Zanskar in the Himalayas of Ladakh, a pilot study focussing on

polyandry Polyandry (; ) is a form of polygamy in which a woman takes two or more husbands at the same time. Polyandry is contrasted with polygyny, involving one male and two or more females. If a marriage involves a plural number of "husbands and wives" ...

. For several years, he and colleagues led further expeditions studying the geology, agriculture, social and family life and monastic practices in this remote, high-altitude region. He later returned with James Low, a

Tibetologist Tibetology () refers to the study of things related to Tibet, including its history, religion, language, culture, politics and the collection of Tibetan articles of historical, cultural and religious significance. The last may mean a collection of ...

fluent in the texts and language, to study the lives of Buddhist hermits in the mountains. Retiring early, he began practising Zen Buddhism in intensive retreats taught at Dharma Drum Retreat Center in New York by Chan Master

Sheng-yen Sheng Yen (), born Zhang Baokang (), (January 22, 1931 – February 3, 2009) was a Taiwanese Buddhist monk, religious scholar, and writer. He was one of the mainstream teachers of Chan Buddhism. He was a 57th generational dharma heir of L ...

Dharma Drum Mountain Dharma Drum Mountain (DDM; ) is an international Buddhist spiritual, cultural, and educational foundation founded by late Chan master Sheng-yen (1931 – 2009). The center focuses on educating the public in Buddhism with the goal of improving th ...

, Taiwan, who in 1993 transmitted to him the authority to teach Chan Buddhism. Forming the Western Chan Fellowship with colleagues, Crook developed a programme of retreats adapted to Western Zen practitioners. Crook published around a hundred scientific papers in

ornithology Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

, ethology and

evolutionary psychology Evolutionary psychology is a theoretical approach in psychology that examines cognition and behavior from a modern evolutionary perspective. It seeks to identify human psychological adaptations with regards to the ancestral problems they evolv ...

, and several books focussing on

consciousness Consciousness, at its simplest, is sentience and awareness of internal and external existence. However, the lack of definitions has led to millennia of analyses, explanations and debates by philosophers, theologians, linguisticians, and scien ...

and Zen practice.Crook, J.H. 2002. ''Illuminating Silence''. Watkins. London. Crook, J.H. 2009. ''The Koans of Layman John''. Lulu. His last work was ''World Crisis and Buddhist Humanism'' (New Age Books, Delhi 2009). He died on 15 July 2011, shortly after a gathering of many former students and colleagues in Somerset to celebrate his life. Dr Innes Cuthill, Professor of Behavioural Ecology at Bristol University, described him as "a pivotal figure in the rise of British primatology and socio-ecology".

Honours

*Osman Hill Medal. Primate Society of Great Britain. 1992. *Fellow.

, Stanford University. 1968–69. *Honour plaque. Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages. 2003.

Publications

*John H. Crook (Editor), ''Social behaviour in Birds and Mammals: Essays on the Social Ethology of Animals and Man''. Academic. 1970. *R. P. Michael and John H. Crook (Editors), ''Comparative Ecology and Behaviour of Primates''. Academic Press Inc, 1973. *John H. Crook, ''The Evolution of Human Consciousness''. Oxford University Press, 1980. *John H. Crook, ''Catching a Feather on a Fan: Zen Retreat with Master Sheng Yen''. Element Books, 1991. *John H. Crook and David Fontana, ''Space in Mind: East-West Psychology & Contemporary Buddhism''. Thorsons/Element, 1993. *John H. Crook and Henry Osmaston, ''Himalayan Buddhist Villages: Environment, Resources, Society and Religious Life in Zangskar, Ladakh''. Bristol Classical Press, 1994. *John H. Crook and James Low, ''The Yogins of Ladakh: A Pilgrimage Among the Hermits of the Buddhist Himalayas''. Motilal Banarsidass, 1997. *John H. Crook, ''Hilltops of the Hong Kong Moon''. Minerva. 1997. *John H. Crook, ''Illuminating Silence''. Watkins. London. 2002. *John H. Crook, Simon Child, Zarko Andricevic, Max Kalin, and Master Sheng-yen. ''Chan Comes West''. North Atlantic Books, 2005. *John H. Crook, ''The Koans of Layman John''. Lulu. 2009. *John H. Crook, ''World Crisis and Buddhist Humanism. End Games: Collapse or Renewal of Civilisation''. New Age Books, 2009.

References

External links

Dr. John Hurrell Crook, 1930 to 2011
SweepingZen.com
John Crook obituary
theguardian.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Crook, John Ethologists 1930 births 2011 deaths People educated at Sherborne School Alumni of the University of Southampton Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge Academics of the University of Bristol Dharma Drum Mountain Chan Buddhists Zen Buddhism writers Military personnel from Hampshire British Zen Buddhists Zen Buddhist spiritual teachers Spiritual retreats Tibetan Buddhist spiritual teachers British Army personnel of the Korean War Converts to Buddhism